A defence official has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.
